Audio-Technica ATH-AD500 Open Headphones-$30.88+Tax-shipped to store

The ADxxx line are very comfy, I can attest to that. I've got the AD700 and you can barely feel them on. The sound quality though, not so good, at least compared to similar and sometimes even cheaper headphones from Sennheiser, et al.
 
requiem99 said:
The ADxxx line are very comfy, I can attest to that. I've got the AD700 and you can barely feel them on. The sound quality though, not so good, at least compared to similar and sometimes even cheaper headphones from Sennheiser, et al.
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But at $30, these cans are a great deal. I think I'm going to bite. I dont think there are any $30 sennheisers that will beat the AD500 at that price
 
requiem99 said:
The ADxxx line are very comfy, I can attest to that. I've got the AD700 and you can barely feel them on. The sound quality though, not so good, at least compared to similar and sometimes even cheaper headphones from Sennheiser, et al.
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Must be a personal preferance then, as i've compared the Sennheiser HD 595's directly and i preferred the AD700's Sound. That and the general build quality of the AT's is heads and shoulders above the Sennheiser. Seeing as the Sennheiser's cheap plastic tends to crack even with great care taken.
 
Vapor1000 said:
Must be a personal preferance then, as i've compared the Sennheiser HD 595's directly and i preferred the AD700's Sound. That and the general build quality of the AT's is heads and shoulders above the Sennheiser. Seeing as the Sennheiser's cheap plastic tends to crack even with great care taken.
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Sonically the AD700 can barely compare to the DJ202 much less the HD series. Definitely less clarity and definition compared with, say, the HD280. I spent 5 years as a music critic and wore headphones every day for around 10 hours (at work, then later when I worked at home) so I had plenty of time to analyze plenty of different sets. I bought a new set every few months, usually mid-low Senns because I wore sets out so quickly, and thus I was very used to their crisp definition. The AD700 is extremely comfortable, and their balance is just fine, but they lack that necessary definition for critical listening especially in the higher end. I would describe their overall sound as "muddy". Plus they are open air so you cannot wear them in a work environment.

They're great for gaming though, and like I said earlier, extremely comfortable. My biggest complaint against them is that you can't attach a trackclip pro (for track IR, the reason I bought them in the first place) because of the way the size auto-adjusts dynamically.
 
requiem99 said:
Sonically the AD700 can barely compare to the DJ202 much less the HD series. Definitely less clarity and definition compared with, say, the HD280. I spent 5 years as a music critic and wore headphones every day for around 10 hours (at work, then later when I worked at home) so I had plenty of time to analyze plenty of different sets. I bought a new set every few months, usually mid-low Senns because I wore sets out so quickly, and thus I was very used to their crisp definition. The AD700 is extremely comfortable, and their balance is just fine, but they lack that necessary definition for critical listening especially in the higher end. I would describe their overall sound as "muddy". Plus they are open air so you cannot wear them in a work environment.

They're great for gaming though, and like I said earlier, extremely comfortable. My biggest complaint against them is that you can't attach a trackclip pro (for track IR, the reason I bought them in the first place) because of the way the size auto-adjusts dynamically.
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i want some of whatever this guy is on.
 
For $30.88 and tax the AD500 is the most unbeatable headphone deal I have seen this year.
 
requiem99 said:
Excellent response, your arguments are certain to sway the undecided towards your point of view.
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an argument isn't really needed.. every single other person on earth who has used the headphones you listed have, almost verbatim, the opposite experience :confused:
 
Thanks, my Creative Fatal1ty headset has pretty poor sound. I know this doesn't have a microphone but for this price I couldn't pass it up.
 
demografik said:
an argument isn't really needed.. every single other person on earth who has used the headphones you listed have, almost verbatim, the opposite experience :confused:
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Every single other person on earth? That's a lot of people. Exactly the opposite opinion? Then the detailed reasons and background I posted must be entirely false and disregarded as the mad ravings of a crackpot.

Ah, internet message boards. Wonderful places.
 
I'm not a fan of the AD series in general, but at this price point, I doubt anything can approach it in terms of value from any of the other well known headphone brands. Just one thing to bear in mind is that they leak a lot ... but heck at this price, I would just keep it on hand as a beater headphone.

Also, wow, really, Walmart... of all the places, odd place to have it.
 
How do these compare in sound quality to sennheiser hd 280 pros? I find the 280s rather uncomfortable and have been thinking of switching to something else.
 
requiem99 said:
Every single other person on earth? That's a lot of people. Exactly the opposite opinion? Then the detailed reasons and background I posted must be entirely false and disregarded as the mad ravings of a crackpot.

Ah, internet message boards. Wonderful places.
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ah, sarcasm. a wonderful thing. :D

every person who bothered to review them and post it on the internet that i've seen. you're entitled to your opinion of course, it's just the exact opposite of the vast majority of similarly qualified individuals. what i mean by exact opposite is that most people would say sennheiser exemplifies the disadvantages you listed, when compared with AT - muddy, highs, etc.
 
I cannot imagine someone calling the AD700's or AD900's (my brother owns the former and I own the latter) "muddy". One of their key features for me is how crisp and clear their sound is. Their only real flaw is the bass isn't very pronounced but if properly driven it's perfectly adequate.

I guess everyone hears things differently but calling the ATH-AD line "muddy" does not match up at all with my experience.
 
Well, i bit. I hope they're pretty good. For $30 they should be amazing
 
ManCannon said:
I cannot imagine someone calling the AD700's or AD900's (my brother owns the former and I own the latter) "muddy". One of their key features for me is how crisp and clear their sound is. Their only real flaw is the bass isn't very pronounced but if properly driven it's perfectly adequate.

I guess everyone hears things differently but calling the ATH-AD line "muddy" does not match up at all with my experience.
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I've used them with multiple sources (Onkyo receiver, HTOMEGA Striker in sig, and a few portable mp3 players) and the clarity is just not what I've come to expect from a set of headphones. As I said, the separation and positioning of sound is just fine, but the sound stage lacks definition, specifically of the high end. I listen to a lot of genres (metal, trance, folk, classic rock, even rap occasionally, among others), and I'm very passionate about music, but in my experience these just aren't very good music headphones when compared to most Sennheisers -- they don't offer what I want in a set of audiophile headphones.

The huge popularity of Sennheiser among my music friends tells me I'm not the only one who feels this way, but if there's one thing that decades of music have shown me, it's that music and sound is subjective. Your mileage can, and almost certainly will, vary. People who love these for music aren't "wrong", just as I am not wrong for disliking them. It's all subjective.
 
Wow, insane deal. In for 2. Going to see if I can swap in drivers from some of the higher end models (AD2000 drivers, mmm)
 
m3ta1head said:
Wow, insane deal. In for 2. Going to see if I can swap in drivers from some of the higher end models (AD2000 drivers, mmm)
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That'll be interesting. I thought the AD2000 drivers were larger.
 
requiem99 said:
I've used them with multiple sources (Onkyo receiver, HTOMEGA Striker in sig, and a few portable mp3 players) and the clarity is just not what I've come to expect from a set of headphones. As I said, the separation and positioning of sound is just fine, but the sound stage lacks definition, specifically of the high end. I listen to a lot of genres (metal, trance, folk, classic rock, even rap occasionally, among others), and I'm very passionate about music, but in my experience these just aren't very good music headphones when compared to most Sennheisers -- they don't offer what I want in a set of audiophile headphones.

The huge popularity of Sennheiser among my music friends tells me I'm not the only one who feels this way, but if there's one thing that decades of music have shown me, it's that music and sound is subjective. Your mileage can, and almost certainly will, vary. People who love these for music aren't "wrong", just as I am not wrong for disliking them. It's all subjective.
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I have HD600s and love them to death, I can listen to them for hours and hours on end. However, there simply aren't any Sennheisers in this price range to even begin to compete. At $30, we're talking AD500 vs Koss PortaPros. This is a no brainer for a second or third set of cans imo.

I agree with you that Sennheisers have detail, but a lot of audiophiles are trebleheads and prefer a headphone that is more forward. There's definitely a sound for everyone in the well populated $250-$350 range, but that is beyond the scope of this thread.

Edit: OOS now.
 
Shoot. I was hoping a few of my friends would be able to score a pair or two.
 
holy crap. guess i got mine just in time. I just ordered mine @ 5:45.. Hopefully these will be a nice replacement for my 5 year old icemat siberias
 
requiem99 said:
The huge popularity of Sennheiser among my music friends tells me I'm not the only one who feels this way
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please don't take offense but i've mostly found that people who tout sennheiser generally don't have much headphone experience beyond sennheiser. i've owned several pairs and wouldn't say any of them are bad but i wouldn't say they're particularly good either, especially for the price. i wouldn't compare anything less than the hd600 to the ad700.
 
I've had $500 Bayers, and $300 sennheisers.. I still prefer my AD700s to them all..

In fact, when one of the drivers in an earcup died after several years, I just called AT and they sent me a free one.. which I soldered in and its like new now. They got a customer for life out of me for that.
 
demografik said:
please don't take offense but i've mostly found that people who tout sennheiser generally don't have much headphone experience beyond sennheiser. i've owned several pairs and wouldn't say any of them are bad but i wouldn't say they're particularly good either, especially for the price. i wouldn't compare anything less than the hd600 to the ad700.
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I have some Sennheiser HD 25-1 II's and they're spectacular portable cans and definitely have better low-end than my AD-900's but the AD-900's have better high-end to my ears. They're just so crisp and clear, and have an amazing soundstage, which is why I just can't fathom anyone calling them "muddy". But as both requiem99 and myself said, we all have different ears and hear things differently.

Ideally I'd love to have enough money to have a different pair of headphones for every type of music I listen to, but since I can't have that I've found the AD-900's to be a great jack of all trades.

One things for certain, this was a great deal on some great cans. I seriously doubt anyone's going to be disappointed in the AD500's for $30.
 
I got this for $53 shipped from CowBoom maybe 10 months ago and I was very happy with it then. At this price I'd totally get one knowing what I've learned until now if I didn't have it already.
 
shame i missed this, would have picked up a pair just out of sheer curiosity.
 
The Red said:
I've had $500 Bayers, and $300 sennheisers.. I still prefer my AD700s to them all..

In fact, when one of the drivers in an earcup died after several years, I just called AT and they sent me a free one.. which I soldered in and its like new now. They got a customer for life out of me for that.
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Did you run the Beyers and Senns amplified. Without proper amplification, I found much of the higher end stuff to be undesirable.
 
450 said:
Did you run the Beyers and Senns amplified. Without proper amplification, I found much of the higher end stuff to be undesirable.
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I agree with this, and most home theater receivers are less than ideal. Even a low end but powerful headphone amp is a better choice than $500+ receivers.
 
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